The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-05-18
VICTORIA,S REIGN.
It's Semi-Centenaryfo be Celss
brated in June.

All over the world preparations are
being made for the celebration of the
semi-centennial jubilee of Queen Vic
toria, on the Goth of June next. As
Webster said, 1.-THE British drum-beat
follows the course of the sun round the
world" When Queen Victoria succeeded
to the throne, Cleveland was in petit
coats, Bayard was nine years old, Whit
ney was not born, Blaine was child of
seven making mudpies. Of eighty-two
members of the privy council who as
sembled to hear her take the oath, not
one survives. When she assembled the
throne Louis Philippe was King of
France; Van Buren, had been inaugu-
rated President of the United States; the
Carlists were fighting hammer and tongs
in Spain; the Canadians were in arms
to secure self-government; Melbourne
and Adelaide we're being founded in Aus
tralia Austria and Russia were stamp
ing out the last embers of Polish free
dom; Prof. Morse was patenting his
telegraph; the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road was beginning to lay track; ocean
steamers were preparing, under general
derision, to cross the Atlantic; Texas
had just declared her independence, and
James Smithson was endowing the
Smithsonian Institution.
Victoria was the daughter of the fourth
son of George III. Her father died when
she was six months old He had been in
poor circumstances; so short of money
indeed that he had to borrow from friends
enough to take his wife to England so
that her child should be born ON British
soil. When the child was eleven years
old the death of George ~ made her
heir-presumptive She would not have
succeeded If her uncle William had
married and had issue; but he was sixty
four, and was living with a lady by
whom he had large family. Victoria
was recognized as the heir and was edu-
Gated accordingly 1t is curious to note
that while the child was still in short
clothes the old Duchess of SAKE Coburg
and the King of the Belgians had already
picked out q husband for her in her
cousin, Albert of Sake Gotha, who was
born three months after her
William Nv died shortly after mid
night. The ministers of state, who had
been expecting the event, the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the officers of the
privy council were promptly summoned;
the archbishop and the three others rode
out to Kensington, where the Duchess of
Kent lived. They arrived there at A. M.
Not one OF them knew the princess init
mately. She had been brought up in
such seclusion by her prudent mother
that she had never slept out of her bed
room, had never been alone with any one
but the duchess or the Baroness Lenzen,
and had no intimate acquaintance or
friends of either sex. The visitors
knocked loudly at the palace door,
and demanded to see the princess. They
were told she was asleep. They
declared that they came ON bust
ness of state to tho Queen, and that
she must be walked, and must receive
them. In few minutes the young lady
of eighteen made her appearance. She
was in her nightdress, with shawl
thrown over her shoulders; she had
thrown of her nightcap and her hair
was loose; her bare feet had been thrust
into slippers; a flush on her cheek
showed that she had been sleeping
soundly, but she was perfectly composed.
She we'll knew what they had come for.
She made the customary declaration, the
lord chancellor administered the oath,
and the young lady stood calm and quiet
while the old men filed one by one before
her and kissed her hand. When they
retired she went back to her bedroom
and had good cry. So began the most
prosperous and, with one OF two excep-
tions, the longest reign in English his
tory.
After Victoria became Queen, Prince
Albert came to England, but the Queen
at first thought they were too young to
marry TWO years later Prince Albert
again came to England"with the intention
OF telling her that II she could not then
make up her mind ne could no longer
wait for decision. The queen finally
consented and they were married in 1910,
Parliament giving him an allowance OF
$15O. 900 q year. The marriage was happy
one from the start TO the end. Albert
laid down for himself two rules, In or
der 70 silence scandal, which had been
SO riIe under previous reigns, and like
his wife-he would pay no visits and
would go nowhere unattended BY an